Jesus' Trial: A Judicial Joke

Mark 14:53-65 ⁵³ They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. ⁵⁴ Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. ⁵⁶ Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. ⁶⁴ “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death. ⁶⁵ Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

There were six trials in six hours. Mark shortens things as is his style: the three religious trials into one. Just in these religious trials there were at least 24 illegalities:

1) No crime

2) Arrest without warrant

3) Arrest at night

4) No legal authorities

5) Biased authorities

6) Trials occurred not in a court

7) Judgment before any accusation

8) The judges cannot initiate the charges they could only investigate charges

9) No official accusation/ illegal indictment

10) Secret trial

11) No defense consideration

12) No defense team

13) Self-incrimination

14) Trial before sundown

15) During the Passover Feast

16) Bribes of the witnesses

17) False witnesses

18) Abuse of evidence/not verified

19) Illegal reading of the verdict

20) Violence in the courtroom

21) They switched the charges! They started with Blasphemy, but that’s not worthy of the death penalty with the Romans, so they switched it to “wanting to overthrow Caesar”!

22) Trial concluded in one day

23) If the verdict was unanimous the defendant must go free

24) Intervention of the high priest in the proceedings

This was a judicial joke! A scam! A mockery!

Look at vs. 55 again: The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.

They were searching for something to make legal a verdict they had already decided on!

But they found none! If we have the arrogance and self-pride to judge Jesus we will end up with nothing too.

Vs. 56 said they got lots of testimony, but none agreed with each other. One of the testimonies actually misquoted something Jesus said in John 2:19. What they said He said was “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands’.”

What Jesus really said was, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

Jesus was talking about Himself. “If you destroy Me, I will rise up in three days.” And here they were trying to destroy the temple - Jesus and He was prophesying that when they did He would rise again in three days!

Jesus never defended Himself. The only time He spoke was when the high priest asked Him if He was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. And Jesus said: “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Jesus was the only one present who told the truth that night. For the second time that night He said “I Am” announcing to all that He was God true God – Yahweh. His next sentence referenced Daniel 7:13-14 ¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Only Jesus said He would be seated at the right hand of God. In Daniel, He was presented. But Christ went on as if saying He was presented and God approved and seated Him at His right hand. Jesus was judge – not them! That’s why He never defended Himself!

As priests and church leaders they recognized what He was quoting and it made them crazy! The high priest tore his mantle and called it blasphemy. And they hit Him!

The version I read (NIV) said the soldiers took Him and hit Him. Many versions say they received Him and hit Him. How do we receive Jesus? With pride and rebellion? Or by humbly bowing down in worship? All the people present that night accept Jesus were really the ones being judged – by how they received Jesus. May OUR hands not be slapping Him in rebellion, but be lifted to Him in praise!

Little known tidbits to help you appreciate Easter more

I just read some really interesting little-known tidbits over at http://www.hacres.com that help connect the events surrounding Christ’s death and resurrection — information that enables us 21st century Americans to decipher what was going on in first century Israel:

We hope they will give you an even greater appreciation for Christ and his sacrifice.

•Passover lambs for sacrifice needed to be “without spot or blemish” (Exodus 12:5). To ensure an adequate supply of lambs for the thousands attending Passover in Jerusalem, priestly shepherds were hired to specifically bred spotless lambs. Because of sanitation regulations, they could not be raised in Jerusalem. Instead, the lambs were born a few miles away in a village… called Bethlehem. The same place where Jesus, the spotless lamb, was born.

•A Passover lamb was to be brought into the home and “tested” for 3 days prior to Passover to ensure it was without spot or blemish (Exodus 12:3-6). In the same manner, Christ (the Passover lamb) was ushered into Jerusalem on a donkey and then tested for 3 days (intensely questioned by the Pharisees) before He was declared faultless (ie. without spot or blemish) by Pilate (John 19:4) and sacrificed.

•Christ was crucified and died at the ninth hour, about 3:00 pm (Matthew 27:45). It is at this exact time that the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the temple.

•The Passover lamb that the temple priests ate was prepared in a way that bears an uncanny resemblance to Christ on the cross. The lamb was sacrificed, then bound and roasted vertically on a metal stake that looks amazingly similar to a crucifix. Most bizarre of all, its entrails were removed and wrapped around its head, looking just like a crown of thorns.

•When Christ was about to die, He cried out “It is finished!” (John 19:30). The High Priest, when all Passover sacrifices are completed, would cry out to the crowd, “It is finished.”

•When John the disciple went into the empty tomb and saw the head cloth that had been wrapped on Christ’s head “folded up by itself” (John 20:5-7), John believed that Christ had risen. Why? In Christ’s day, when carpenters had finished their job, they folded their finishing rag and left it behind to let the homeowner know that the job was done when they arrived home. Each carpenter had a signature way of folding the cloth. Some say John knew the way Jesus’ folded His carpenter cloths and recognized the fold as Jesus’ signature that the “job was done.”

Palm Sunday People? Or Easter People?

Today is Palm Sunday and our church didn’t mention it. My first thought was that that seemed a little odd. Every other church I’ve ever belonged to my entire life handed out palm leafs to the congregation.

My next thought was that I didn’t really want to celebrate it anyway because all those people in Jerusalem were hypocrites. Look what they did to Jesus at the END of the week!

But my last thought was: how true this is of all of us! We praise and worship Jesus all the time for what He might do. He might give us exactly what we are praying for. But then we turn against Him when He doesn’t do what we want.

They wanted an earthly king to get them out from under Roman control. What do we want? Health? A job? A fix to a relationship problem? More money?

We must focus on ONE thing that He did! He rose from the dead to conquer death and give us eternal life!

We must not be Palm Sunday people and certainly not Munday Thursday or Good Friday people. We must be Easter people! Now that’s something to celebrate!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Seven Days to Live

Bill Hybels has a good article over at Today's Christian Woman. It answers:
What can we learn from Jesus' last week on earth?

Read it here

Easter Ideas to Help Your Family Stay Focused

Christianity Today has a holiday section and I was just browsing the Easter ideas. Check them out here Easter Ideas to make the last 2 weeks before Easter be meaningful.

Easter with Christianity Today

Since this is Easter weekend I thought you might enjoy Christianity Today’s Easter section. Check it out, there’s a lot to read and learn here:

Christianity Today

Live the Good News Clothing and Gifts

At the Easter service at church today I was inspired to come home and create a new design for my store. “Live the Good News.” If we would all just live the way God wants us to, this world would be amazing! Happy Easter!

http://www.givitup.com